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So I met a Jennie "without the ifer" who said that Jennie came before Jennifer and is different name. Is there any truth to this?
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Absolutely. The diminutive -IE ending was highly popular in Scotland in the 18th century. The poet Robert Burns, for instance (1759-1796) was called Rabbie among contemporaries, and Charles Stuart (a pretender to the throne of England, 1720-1788) was commonly called "Bonnie Prince Charlie."
Janet/Jannet/Jennet was a popular name in Scotland, and these three forms seem to have been used almost interchangeably (for example, in this book, where all of them plus Jean appear repeatedly: http://tinyurl.com/pdelq2k.)
There is no need for for the progression to necessarily be Janet > Jennet > Jennie. There is plenty of evidence that women named Jean and Janet were nicknamed Jennie as well. Jenny Cameron, for example, was also called Jeanie.
Janet/Jannet/Jennet was a popular name in Scotland, and these three forms seem to have been used almost interchangeably (for example, in this book, where all of them plus Jean appear repeatedly: http://tinyurl.com/pdelq2k.)
There is no need for for the progression to necessarily be Janet > Jennet > Jennie. There is plenty of evidence that women named Jean and Janet were nicknamed Jennie as well. Jenny Cameron, for example, was also called Jeanie.
This message was edited 11/23/2015, 4:41 PM
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